title: Responsible authorship: why researchers must forgo honorary authorship.
abstract: Although widespread throughout the biomedical sciences, the practice of honorary authorship-the listing of authors who fail to merit inclusion as authors by authorship criteria-has received relatively little sustained attention. Is there something wrong with honorary authorship, or is it only a problem when used in conjunction with other unethical authorship practices like ghostwriting? Numerous sets of authorship guidelines discourage the practice, but its ubiquity throughout biomedicine suggests that there is a need to say more about honorary authorship. Despite its general acceptance among many scientists, honorary authorship is unethical. Even if burdensome, responsible researchers are obligated to forgo honorary authorship.
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy and Religion, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762, USA. brm157@msstate.edu
authors.forename: Barton
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moffatt
mesh_terms: D001319:Authorship; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics*; D032984:Ethics, Research; D006801:Humans; D024382:Professional Role; D011643:Publishing / Q000941:ethics*; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000941:ethics; D012941:Social Responsibility